Northern California's Rainmaker, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

The 2014 version of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am got underway today for 37 minutes before play was suspended for a couple of hours due to inclement weather. In a year when rainfall has been as sparse Redwoods in the desert, nothing brings a storm like a PGA Tour event at Pebble Beach. Weather stories from the AT&T event are as much a part of the anecdotal history of the event as celebrity hijinks.

Rain or shine, this year’s event, as always, features an "A" list of celebrities and includes a fab four of NFL quarterbacks. When top quarterbacks lose their last game of the season a fun consolation for some is getting to play at Pebble. This year’s quarterback field features Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers. Manning is the only one without a Northern California connection, but who cares.

Notable pairings include Wayne Gretzky playing with his future son-in-law Dustin Johnson, Matt Bettencourt and S.F. Giant Matt Cain, John Mallinger and new FoxSports1 host Andy Roddick, D.A. Points and Condoleeza Rice, Graeme McDowell and his father, and John Daly with Kid Rock.

Sacramento teaching professional, David Carr, who is based at Teal Bend is also in the field, as are Spencer Levin, Scott McCarron and Nick Watney. Stockton’s Ricky Barnes is paired with Tom Brady. Bay area tour player James Hahn is also playing.

Conspicuously missing from this year’s celebrity roster are Bill Murray who apparently has movie commitments and comedian George Lopez who has been a mainstay for a number of years.

Oft injured defending champ, Brandt Snedeker, acknowledged that he injured a rib during the final few holes last year and his caddie encouraged him to continue. Nonetheless Snedeker said, “I can’t wait to have a press conference where I don’t talk about my health.” In an effort to improve his overall health Snedeker has also changed his diet, “I cut out soda, cut out lots of saturated fats, fast food, that kind of stuff. I’ve had way too many injuries for a guy my age, so I’m trying everything I can think of to counteract that and diet is one of those things I can do.”

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Vince is the host and producer of the Golf Talk Radio Show on Sports1140 KHTK in Sacramento since 1994. He has won five awards for the program, and in 2008 he was named one of the top 25 most influential people in Sacramento golf by The Sacramento Bee. Vince is a member of the Golf Writer's of America Association and the California Golf Writers Association. Contact Vince.